Elyria Pioneers get revenge in rout of Midview Middies

ELYRIA — Elyria senior running back Jordan Connell had a first half most people dream about doing in a single game.
Connell rushed for 145 yards and scored four times in the first half. He finished with 188 yards and added a receiving touchdown for a personal-best fifth touchdown leading host Elyria to a convincing 53-17 non-conference win over Midview at Ely Stadium on Friday.
“It all starts up front and the line got a good push,” Connell said. “Jumarr (Lewis) was blocking excellent for me and the receivers were too. So whatever we can take; we are going to get it.”
Connell started off the scoring with a three-yard run which capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive on the game’s opening series.
Jumarr Lewis (24-89) gave Elyria (3-0) a 13-0 lead with a six-yard run midway through the first quarter.
Midview senior quarterback Cody Callaway led the Middies (2-1) back. He connected with Dante Redwood from 58 yards out. A 35-yard field goal by Brendan Matchan cut the Pioneers lead down to 13-10 early in the second quarter.
Elyria scored on its next four possessions all in spectacular fashion, but it didn’t come by accident.
The offensive line of Colton Hess, Kevin Cloen, Tony Schaefer, Darius Badford and Seth Billings, the Pioneers broke off run after run. Connell went straight up the middle and scored from 29 yards out.
Less than two minutes later, he scored from 21 yards out with the help of a fantastic kick-out block by Lewis.
While Callaway and the Middies’ offense struggled, Elyria’s offense continued to work like a well-oiled machine.
With another gaping hole opened, Connell ripped through the heart of Midview’s defense and into the clear to score his fourth touchdown of the first half — this one from 50 yards out.
Elyria quarterback Hunter Parsh (13 of 19, 166 yards in the first half) capped the second quarter explosion, connecting with Marquise Edwards from 58 yards out to give the Pioneers a 39-10 lead at the half.
“It was just one of those halves things went our way,” Elyria coach Kevin Fell said. “There were two things I think that were really important in the game. One of them ... I don’t know if it’s their inability or our good defense they couldn’t score inside the 20. The other thing is I thought Hunter played a great football game. He has nice statistics. He made adjustments out there and made big passes. It gave our kids confidence.”
Parsh finished with 271 yards on 18 of 24 passing. He threw three touchdowns covering 58, 47 and 39 yards. The last one was a perfectly executed middle screen pass to Connell, who got great blocking to score and give the Pioneers a 53-10 lead. Tavon Kurtz finished with 95 yards on five catches, while Edwards had two catches for 60 yards. Connell and Lewis combined for 277 of Elyria’s 560 yards of total offense.
It wasn’t just offense which Connell and Lewis excelled. The duo did a great job on defense to throw off the timing of Midview’s offense. After leading the Middies to a pair of first-half scores, the Middies offense was stymied until the fourth quarter.
“Our defense has played well,” Fell said. “I don’t think Midview has had a problem like that since (playoffs). Our people are covering. We don’t get great pressure, but we get enough.
“We played like we thought we should play and now we have all kinds of guys just like them to beat.”
Callaway was 13 of 34 for 232 yards and the lone touchdown. Sophomore Logan Bolin caught seven passes for 122 yards.
“That’s (Elyria) a good football team,” Midview coach Bill Albright said. “If we’re a passing team; we can’t drop the ball. We’ve got to make plays on defense.
“Defensively, all season long third down and long has been a killer for us ... we make two great plays in a row; we’ve got to learn how to make three to four great plays in a row.”
Elyria hosts Valley Forge next Friday, while Midview travels to Rocky River.